WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is facing potential rifts with members of his own party in
tough re-election contests as he barrels toward a fall fight with Republicans over his ability to
change immigration policies.

If Obama takes the broadest action under consideration — removing the threat of deportation for
millions of people in this country illegally — the short-term risks appear greatest for Senate
Democrats in conservative-leaning states. Weeks before the November vote, they could find
themselves on the hot seat for their views not only on immigration but also on Obama’s use of
presidential powers.

Some of those lawmakers have said Obama should act with caution.

“This is an issue that I believe should be addressed legislatively and not through executive
order,” said Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., one of the top targets for Republicans trying to retake
control of the Senate.

Such statements have immigration advocates on edge.

A coalition of advocacy groups, in a letter to congressional Democrats on Friday, said immigrant
families should not have to wait until after the November elections for relief. The organizations
said any attempts by Democrats to delay or dilute administrative changes “will be viewed as a
betrayal of Latino and immigrant communities with serious and lasting consequences.”

The letter was released because of advocates’ concerns that leading Senate Democrats might be
shifting their positions because of political considerations after previously urging Obama to
act.

For example, a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declined to say on Friday whether
Schumer still thinks Obama should act by October, as Schumer has said before.

Still, Obama looks determined to move forward on his own despite the political risks for
Democrats.

He is irritated by House Republicans’ inaction on immigration legislation passed last year by
the Senate. The crisis over unaccompanied minors arriving in southern Texas does not appear to have
deterred him, and the slowdown of arrivals at the border might be shifting the issue away from the
spotlight anyway.

The exact contours of Obama’s plans remain unclear.

Advocates and lawmakers who have talked with administration officials anticipate that he could
expand a program that granted work permits and deferred deportation to more than 700,000 immigrants
brought illegally to the U.S. as children. It could be extended to include parents of those
children, as well as parents of U.S. citizens, or potentially others — groups that could add up to
perhaps